The proposition that relationships make differential (i.e., unique, redundant, contingent) contributions to adjustment was examined by investigating the linkages between children's participation in different types of peer relationships (i.e., friendship, peer acceptance, peer victimization) and their adjustment to school. Relationship measures were gathered for 5- to 6-year-old children (105 males, 95 females) twice during kindergarten (i.e., fall and spring) and were correlated with adjustment indicators at each time of assessment and used to predict changes in school adjustment over time. Examination of the relative associations between the relationship measures and children's adjustment revealed evidence of both unshared (i.e., unique) and shared (i.e., redundant) linkages, depending on the form of adjustment examined. These findings suggest that adjustment may be influenced by the diverse experiences (i.e., provisions) that children encounter in different forms of relationship, and that certain types of relationships may have greater or lesser adaptive significance depending on the adjustment outcome examined.

The purpose of this study was to develop a method for assessing young children's perceptions of classroom friendships and to determine whether these perceptions were associated with their adjustment during the transition to grade school. Subscales tapping 5 friendship processes (e.g., validation, aid, disclosure of negative affect, exclusivity, conflict) were extracted from a 24-item friendship interview that was individually administered to 82 kindergarten children (M age = 5.61) who possessed a reciprocated and stable "best" friend in their classroom. Children's reports of the investigated friendship processes were found to be reliable, and processes such as perceived validation and conflict predicted children's satisfaction with their friendships, and the stability of these relationships. Perceived conflict in friendships was associated with multiple forms of school maladjustment for boys, including higher levels of school loneliness and avoidance and lower levels of school liking and engagement. For both boys and girls, validation and aid forecasted gains in perceived support from classmates, and aid also predicted improvements in children's school attitudes. Perceived exclusivity in friendships was associated with lower levels of achievement. These findings, and others reported in this article, are consistent with the hypothesis that the relational features of children's classroom friendships yield psychological benefits or costs (e.g., provisions) that, in turn, affect their development and adjustment.

The purpose of this study was to develop a method for assessing young children's perceptions of classroom friendships and to determine whether these perceptions were associated with their adjustment during the transition to grade school. Subscales tapping 5 friendship processes (e.g., validation, aid, disclosure of negative affect, exclusivity, conflict) were extracted from a 24-item friendship interview that was individually administered to 82 kindergarten children (M age = 5.61) who possessed a reciprocated and stable "best" friend in their classroom. Children's reports of the investigated friendship processes were found to be reliable, and processes such as perceived validation and conflict predicted children's satisfaction with their friendships, and the stability of these relationships. Perceived conflict in friendships was associated with multiple forms of school maladjustment for boys, including higher levels of school loneliness and avoidance and lower levels of school liking and engagement. For both boys and girls, validation and aid forecasted gains in perceived support from classmates, and aid also predicted improvements in children's school attitudes. Perceived exclusivity in friendships was associated with lower levels of achievement. These findings, and others reported in this article, are consistent with the hypothesis that the relational features of children's classroom friendships yield psychological benefits or costs (e.g., provisions) that, in turn, affect their development and adjustment.

The proposition that relationships make differential (i.e., unique, redundant, contingent) contributions to adjustment was examined by investigating the linkages between children's participation in different types of peer relationships (i.e., friendship, peer acceptance, peer victimization) and their adjustment to school. Relationship measures were gathered for 5- to 6-year-old children (105 males, 95 females) twice during kindergarten (i.e., fall and spring) and were correlated with adjustment indicators at each time of assessment and used to predict changes in school adjustment over time. Examination of the relative associations between the relationship measures and children's adjustment revealed evidence of both unshared (i.e., unique) and shared (i.e., redundant) linkages, depending on the form of adjustment examined. These findings suggest that adjustment may be influenced by the diverse experiences (i.e., provisions) that children encounter in different forms of relationship, and that certain types of relationships may have greater or lesser adaptive significance depending on the adjustment outcome examined.

No abstract